Irricana’s 4-H Beef and Multi Club, a club for youth ages five to 16 that centres around livestock management, kicked off its summer initiatives May 14 by celebrating the work the members put in throughout the year during the club’s annual Achievement Days.
This year, the club launched the vet science small project, which allowed three young learners to gain hands-on experience working with local veterinarians.
“They got to shadow for the day, so they got to do surgeries on some of the animals and they got to go in the waiting rooms with the patients and help them do a diagnosis,” said Jody Morris, a project leader for Irricana’s 4-H club and the mom of a vet science program member.
“They really got a good learning experience from it.”
The 4-H Club helps its young members learn life skills like public speaking, community service, decision-making, and critical thinking.
Meeting once a month from October until June, the 43 members of the Irricana 4-H Club host guest speakers and run clinics, while discussing the current projects the club’s members are working on. The three main projects – beef, sheep and welding – highlight possible career choices for the young members.
For Morris, the hands-on program allowed her daughter to explore the day-to-day life of a veterinarian, which is a potential career path for the 15-year-old.
“It’s not like watching a screen…they’re in there actually seeing it in person and they feel more involved,” Morris said.
Throughout the year, the club members complete their main and small projects and create a final presentation to be shown during the club’s Achievement Days. These projects also integrate the life skills that the members have learned along the way, according to Morris.
Members showed off their projects during the Achievement Days, which took place this year on May 14. Morris added the event acts as a year-end celebration for the club, highlighting the projects the members have been working on since the fall.
The vet science members displayed their hands-on experience by creating tri-fold boards with pictures and descriptions of what they had learned throughout the year. They then gave a presentation, which demonstrated their public speaking skills, according to Morris.
Typically, those presenting at the event are judged by volunteers and the winners receive a ribbon and gift box, Morris said. However, because this was the vet science program's first year, the club decided to forego judging the members.
After learning from this year, Morris is hoping to double the members involved in the vet science program and “think[s] it will be a really good year.”
